


Liberation.

by Waltzwashere



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Genre: Again, Angst, Chapter 2 is mostly crack, Crack, Crack Treated Seriously, Fluff and Angst, Found Family, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Linked Universe (Legend of Zelda), Twilight Whump, Twilight and Hyrule are best friends, Twilight curses alot, the rest is serious
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-01
Updated: 2020-11-21
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:29:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,076
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27317041
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Waltzwashere/pseuds/Waltzwashere
Summary: Was he free?No.But he would bury it, suppress it, smother it in the lie that he was liberated.
Relationships: Hyrule & Twilight (Linked Universe)
Comments: 18
Kudos: 104





	1. Tremble.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! I'm not dead. I've actually been writing this story since August because I kind of started to hate my writing. (Not anymore though.) And If you're wondering I will 100% finish The Suffocating Love of Ordon, and Good Enough. I genuinely am just having trouble figuring out what I want to happen in the story. But I have no idea when I will finish them. Any who I've spent hours on this story so please enjoy. :D

After a battle with monsters all the boys were picking themselves back up. The sun was setting, falling into a warm twilight. The pink orange hue casted over the sky. Hyrule was sitting down on a tree resting. He peered at his comrade Twilight a few times, but then glanced away, trying to act unsuspicious. But someone must have seen through him. Warriors walked to him putting his back against the tree. 

“What’s up with you? Are you hurt?” Warriors asked. 

“I’m all good. Just getting my energy back.” Hyrule looked up at the sky.

“What are you staring at?” 

“Twilight.” Warriors paused, confused. 

“Why?” Hyrule sighed finally looking away from sky 

“Don't tell him I told you this. And don’t judge me, okay?”

“Okay?” 

“I’ve been watching Twilight’s hands lately.” Hyrule whispered.

“Uh huh...” Warriors smirked.

“Not like that!”

“Hey, I’m not here to judge, I don’t care how you feel about the rancher.” Hyrule rolled his eyes.

“I’m serious! Look! Haven’t you noticed that Twilight’s left hand is always shaking. And it’s always bandaged up. It’s been that way since we met him.” They both looked at Twilight. He was talking to Sky and Wild. They looked closer at Twilight’s left hand. There was a slight tremor to it.

“I guess that is strange. But you shouldn’t pry into someone's history. It’s not our business how he got hurt.”

“But during battles his hand gets worse. I’ve even seen him switch hands and use his right hand to swing his sword.”

“Yeah... what a show off.” Hyrule frowned and punched Warriors shoulder.

“Ow.” 

“This is serious! Using an injured hand like that can cause serious damage.” 

“Well then ask him about it if you are so worried.” 

“I can’t just ask him that. It’s too personal. I mean, he’s closer to Time and Wild. It would be weird if it was me. Maybe I can push Wild to say something. Maybe I can hint at it?”

“You better choose fast then.”

“Huh, why?”

“Because he’s walking over here.” Warriors pointed, and like he said, Twilight was walking over. Hyrule stomach dropped. He couldn’t do this yet. Twilight could be intimidating sometimes. He was nice, sure, but sometimes... Twilight’s name was so fitting. Stoic and serious.

“Hey guys.” Twi said so gingerly.

“Sup Rancher.” Warriors answered. 

“Hey…” Hyrule mumbled.

“Time says we’re low on supplies. Food, potions, bandages. He wants to look for a village to restock.”

“Sounds fine. Could take some time though. Especially since none of us know which Hyrule we’re in.”

“These forests are way different from what I’m used to. Hopefully there’s a village nearby.”

“I’m kind of in the mood for a drink and a hot bath.” Warriors stood up shaking off the dust. “Well I’ll leave you two at it.” 

“What do you mean?” Warriors patted Twilight’s shoulder. 

“I think you two have something to talk about.” Warriors walked off. Twilight turned to Hyrule. 

“ _Do_ we have something to talk about?” Hyrule stuttered for words. It’s not like he didn’t trust Twilight. He trusts him a lot. But they were never alone together. They never really talked. Now that he thought about it he didn’t know anything about Twilight. He wondered if Twilight knew anything about him. 

“Hyrule?” Twilight called. “Are you okay?”

Hyrule realized that he was silent while staring ghostly at Twi.

“Did you figure me out?” Twilight whispered in a soft tone. 

“Oh… I suppose so.” 

“It was gonna happen sooner or later.” Twilight grinned. 

“Yeah.” Hyrule rubbed his neck.

“Time, Wild, Four, and Legend already know.” Twilight giggled.

“Oh! Really!? Then I don’t have to worry.” Hyrule chuckled. But Twilight was confused. Were they talking about the same thing?

“What do you mean worried?”

“With your hand?” Hyrule’s smile vanished when he saw Twilight’s expression. Twi looked shocked and immediately hid his left hand. They were not talking about the same thing. 

“My hand… Right, that secret. I guess someone would have found out sooner or later.” Twilight’s tone was different. It was monotone and almost silent. Hyrule had a spike of curiosity of what the other secret was but lost interest looking at Twilight’s sadden expression. _Damn, this was awkward._ They both stood there for a second. 

“I noticed that your hand is always shaking.” Hyrule started, choosing his words carefully. “And it’s always worse after a fight. What happened?” When Hyrule looked up he was surprised to see such a somber smile. There was so much saddest behind that grin Hyrule regretted everything. Why did he even say anything? Twilight was way older than him. He knew how to take care of himself. Stupid. How were they ever going to mend the relationship from here? It was so tense. He should have gone with Plan Cub and told Wild to talk to Twilight. He was so stupid.

“I punched a mirror.” 

  
  
  



	2. Salamander.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The first chapter is kinda short so here ya go! :D

“I punched a mirror.” He uttered while holding his left hand with his right. 

“Oh.”

“Yeah.” 

“I… I shouldn't have asked that. But if you’re in pain you should tell Time and Wild for…for...” Twilight slowly raised his left hand. He set it on Hyrule’s shoulder. 

“Don’t tell them anything.” His hand, Hyrule could feel the light tremor in it. He could feel how tense Twilight’s hand was. Hyrule didn’t answer. He wasn’t scared. Even with Twilight so close, he was more worried than intimidating. Twilight let go and turned back to the group. 

Hyrule slumped back into the tree. He wasn’t going to tell Time or Wild. But he also didn’t want Twilight to permanently damage his hand. He thought about his options. 

For the next few days as they travelled around looking for any village. Anytime Twilight was alone. Hyrule would always give him a new bandage for his hand. If they had extra potions Hyrule would force Twilight to drink some. And if he refused; Hyrule would just walk in the direction of Time or Wild and Twilight would submit. It was funny and they would joke around about it. But it genuinely worried Hyrule that Twilight didn’t want to tell them about it. It must have been really personal.  _ Punching a mirror _ , Hyrule thought.  _ What was bothering him? _

He didn't get it until they encountered a group of bokoblins. During the fight Hyrule assumed Twilight’s left hand gave out, because he fell on his back dropping his sword. There was an enemy in front of him. Hyrule gasped but focused on the moblin near him. When Hyrule killed it, he turned to Twilight. Mr. Self Sacrifice, AKA Wild, was there with his shield up. 

“Thanks!” Twilight turned and grabbed his sword. After the fight Time was hounding Twilight over dropping his sword. Wild didn’t say much but he was equally worried. Twilight brushed it off as a small mistake. Now Hyrule understood. Time and Wild meant well; but Twilight just wanted to be left alone. Like a lone puppy. It was a different concept to Hyrule but he could accept that. 

Hyrule decided that day to relax around Twilight. He would still give him potions, though they were starting to run out. But if Twilight said no. Hyrule backed off. After a few more days of this, they actually started to have conversations. They even went out sometimes looking for food. Tonight though, they were sitting by the fire wondering what they could eat. The conversation was dominated by dishes Wild made in the past. 

“You guys seem to be leaning to fish dishes.” Wild said. “Do you all want fish for dinner or something?” 

“Absolutely, yes.” Warriors said.

“I need fish right now.” Wind mumbled, rubbing his stomach. 

“Well, then get fishing guys because I’m all out of food.” The boys sighed. But Twilight jumped up with his  _ really  _ long fishing rod. 

“Don’t worry y’all. I’ll be back!” 

“Catch a lot of fish Twi!” Wind called out. Hyrule jumped up. 

“I’ll come with.” Hyrule grabbed his bag.    
  


“Yeah come on, I could use the company.” As they left Legend spoke. 

“They have been close lately.” 

“Yeah it’s nice.” Sky said. “They never used to talk.”

“What? Did they hate each other or something?”

“I hope not.” Sky shrugged. “I assumed they never got the chance to talk.” 

“It’s weird.” Wild said to himself. Time patted Wild’s head.

  
  
  


Twilight sat down by the river with his long fishing rod. Hyrule stood by him. 

“So how  _ does _ fishing work?” Hyrule asked.

“You’ve never been fishing!?”

“Uh, no?” 

“Why? It’s so much fun, unless you catch the same thing over and over again.” He mumbled.

“Fishing isn't really a thing in my hyrule. The water is poisonous and the fish are mean.” 

“Well they don’t want to die, heh, I understand. I’ll teach you how to fish.” Twilight stood by Hyrule and gave him his fishing rod. 

“Why is your fishing rod so long?”

“Shut up.” Twilight stood behind Hyrule. “Okay, now cast the rod.” Hyrule stood there blankly. “Lift your arm up, kiddo. Then try to make it land far into the water.” 

“Okay.” Hyrule lifted his arm. He casted the rod into the water. 

“Pretty good. Natural talent.” 

“Didn’t seem too hard.” Twilight smiled.

“Wild doesn’t understand fishing.”

“Hm?” 

“The last time I brought him fishing. He fell asleep! The second time; He threw a bomb into the water, and scared all the fish! I mean, he did catch a lot of fish that day. But still.” 

“Seems like a waste of bombs.”

“Well, it would be, but he used his blue bombs.” Twilight signed. “Enough talk about Cub. This way is better! Okay kiddo?” 

“Ok Twilight.” He giggled. They stood for a few minutes watching the water. “Do you think we’ll be okay?” Hyrule asked.

“Right now or later?” 

“Both but, let’s talk about right now.”

“I’m not sure. It’s better to take things one at a time.”

“Yeah.” 

“This isn’t the first time we’ve been this low on supplies, But we’re pretty strong, I’m sure we’ll figure something out.”

“I hope so. It’s hard to not worry about everything we’re low on. I got a little nervous when Wild said that we were out of food. I’m not used to foraging food for so many people!” 

“Don’t worry kiddo we're going to catch a lot of fish.”

“Okay Twi.” They chuckled. Twilight sat on the ground, Hyrule followed. 

“When I finished my adventure.” Twi started. “I had a lot to think about. So I thought about it everyday hoping to make sense of it. But constantly thinking about it just made me feel overwhelmed. Like I was chained underwater. I didn’t understand so much. Eventually I couldn’t look at myself in the mirror anymore… It frustrated me.” He whispered. “So I smashed it.” 

“Did it hurt?”

“Like hell.” 

“Did you tell anyone about it?” 

“My family knew but…” Twilight glared at his hand.  _ I guess he’s not ready to talk about his family yet.  _ Hyrule thought. 

“That’s a rough deal Twilight. It is.” Twilight nodded. 

“Yeah…”

“When was the last time you looked-” 

“There’s a bite!” Twilight suddenly pointed at the water. The rod was twitching and the water had ripples in it. They both stood up. 

“What do I do!? What do I do!?” Hyrule said jumping on his tippy toes.

  
“Pull it up! Pull up!” Hyrule jerked his arm up. “Not too hard now or the fish will flop off!” After struggling for a bit the fish jumped from the water. It sparkled in the sun. Hyrule picked it up by the hook. 

“I caught a fish! My first fish! Twilight look!” 

“I see it! I see it, kiddo. Come on, let’s measure it.”

“Really?” 

“Of course, this is an important moment in every person’s life.” Twilight walked to his bag and pulled out a brown book. He flipped through the pages until Hyrule stopped him. 

“Woah what’s that!?” 

“That’s a hylian loach.”   
  


“You caught that?”

“Hell yeah I caught it. It wasn’t easy either.”

“It was 30 inches?”

“Yup. Hena, the girl I was with, kept screaming about it. That was a fun day.”

“What about that!?” 

“That’s a reekfish.” 

“Does it…?” 

“Yeah, it reeks.” 

“Did you catch that during your adventure?” 

“Yeah.” 

“Was that before you punched the mirror?” 

“Yeah, I could look at the water then.” 

“Oh. When was the last time you saw your reflection?” Twilight stopped moving. Then he sighed.

“Let’s measure your fish okay?” 

“Okay.” 

“Hold it up and I’ll measure it.” Hyrule held it up and Twilight brought out a tape measure. “Nineteen inches. Pretty good for your first fish.”

“Amazing” Hyrule smiled and looked at the flopping fish.

“Hand me my book.”

  
“Sure.” As The book left Hyrule’s fingertips and went into Twilight’s hands he gasped and dropped the book. There was a sharp pin like pain that echoed through Twilight’s left hand. 

“Oh shit! Shit… that hurts.” Twilight bawled his left hand into a fist. 

“Oh no are you okay!?” Hyrule dropped the fish into the bucket.

“Yeah yeah. Sometimes grabbing…” Twilight stopped talking cringing from the pain. “Ah!”

“Let me see if I have a potion.” Hyrule dug through his things. “Shit. I don’t have any. Let me go get the others.” 

“No! I’m fine. It goes away after some time.”

“Twi no offense but you look like you’re in agony.” 

“Just give me a second, this happens a lot.” 

“Twi-”

“They don’t have any potions anyway! Just… just give me that bucket.” Hyrule grabbed the bucket with his new fish and handed it to Twi. He put his hand in the water. 

“You know that my first fish is in there right?”

“Yeah, I know Kiddo.” 

“Does that help?” 

“Sometimes.” Twilight looked down. “I want to say thank you. You could have told someone else about my hand. But you didn’t. And… I’m sorry I threatened you. You had every right to ask.” 

“It’s okay. You’re not that scary.” Twilight smiled. “So I’m guessing Time and Wild don’t know about your hand?”

“No. At least, we haven’t talked about it.” 

“You’re worried they’ll overreact right?”

“That and… I’m worried Wild will do something stupid.” Hyrule sat down next to Twilight. 

“What do you mean?”

“So y’know that Wild can like… die…and come back? With that girl, Mipha?”

“Yeah.” 

“I know that I should feel happy that he can come back, but I really hate seeing him die. It’s so fucking frustrating. Besides I don’t want him to die for me. I don’t want him to be worried over me. He has enough to worry about.”  _ Boy, did Hyrule want to hear about Wild’s endeavours.  _

“He really is wild huh?” Twilight laughed. He pulled his hand from the bucket of water. “Does it feel better?” 

“Your fish was sucking on my fingers! It tickled.” Hyrule sat up. He looked in the bucket. Hyrule put his finger in the bucket, and sure enough the fish his fish sucked on his finger.

“Why is he doing that?”

“He’s a curious little guy.” 

“Weird.” Hyrule pulled his hand from the bucket. “Is your hand better?”

“Yeah, it feels better.” 

“So are we done fishing?” Twilight looked up, he kinda looked like he was sniffing something. 

“Yep!”

“Are you happy at the thought of us starving?” 

“I think we’ll find something bigger.” Twilight stood up. 

“Wait. What about my first fish?” Hyrule picked up the bucket. 

“That's up to you. Do you want to eat it or let it go?” 

Hyrule thought for a moment looking at the fish that had sucked his fingers moments ago. He grabbed it from the bucket and tossed it back into the water. 

“Goodbye first fish.” They waved. 

“Feeling sentimental?” 

“I like your worlds more. Even though Wild’s hyrule was on the verge of death, it was still beautiful. Everything in my Hyrule tries to kill me. I don’t really see the beauty there.” Hyrule giggled. “I guess I just wanted to see it swim away.”

“Come on kiddo.” Twilight nudged Hyrule with his right hand. We got a deer to catch.” 

“A deer? Alright then.” 

Later that evening Twilight and Hyrule came back with a deer. And while the others were happy to see food…

“Uh. Pup do you know what a fish looks like?” Time said sarcastically.

“Hey! Do you want to eat or not, old man? We did go fishing…” 

“And what, did you get lost?” Legend asked. “Or could you not catch any fish?” 

“We did! But there was no way we could eat Hyrule’s first fish.”

“Your first fish?” Sky asked. 

“Yup! This was my first time fishing the right way.” Hyrule said, smiling.

“There’s no right way to fish.” Wild mumbled. 

“Yes there is!” Both Twilight and Hyrule yelled. Then they laughed. 

“Wild, Twilight said you don’t get fishing.”

“Fishing is so boring! I don't get why you guys like it. And there’s nothing wrong with the way I fish.” Twilight almost collapsed. 

“That’s it! I'm gonna make Hyrule my new protege.” 

“Are you gonna name him Cub too?” Wild smirked.

“Hell no. I’ll call him… Salamander.”

“Nope!” Hyrule stood up walking. 

“Where ya goin’ Salamander?” Twilight called. 

“You’re not calling me that Twi! That sounds dumb!”

“Aw, come on!”

“It sounds stupid. It’s not gonna catch on!”

“I said the same thing when Time started calling me Pup. And Cub said the same thing when I started calling him Cub.” 

“No!”

“He’ll get used to it.” 


	3. It Was Twilight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know if I like this chapter.

“You think we’re gonna find anything out here? We’ve been here for days.” Hyrule complained while walking behind Twilight through the thick forest. 

“You’re so negative, kiddo. Have faith in Wofie’s nose. He obviously smelled something promising.” Hyrule rolled his eyes. “You don’t trust Wolfie?” Twilight said, hurt a bit.

“We’ll see, but I don’t see why you have to come.” 

“Every adventurer should have a companion along with them.”

“I didn’t have one, and see- I turned out great!”

“You didn’t have a partner when you were traveling!?” 

“No? It was just me.” Hyrule said following close behind. 

“Was it hard? How many times did you almost die?”

“I mean it wasn’t easy, and you’re starting to sound like Wild. How many times did _you_ almost die?”

“Four maybe five if you count emotionally.” 

“Seven, there were seven times where I thought I was done for. Not that I’m bragging… because they’re horrible memories.”

“You’re definitely stronger than me Salamander.” 

“Can you please stop calling me that dumb nickname?” 

“Why’s that?”

“Because, It’s not going to stick no matter how many times you say it. And what do you mean stronger than you?” 

“I couldn’t imagine being alone during my whole adventure. Without them… I think I would have been dead. Or still stuck in jail at least.” Hyrule laughed.

“Seriously?”

“Yeah.” Twilight had a sadden expression. 

He seemed to really care about this partner. So what happened that forced that sad look on his face? Did they leave? Did they die? Did they have a falling out? “Are they the reason you punched the mirror?” Twilight stopped walking. But Hyrule didn’t back down. They were closer now, he wanted to know. 

“Something like that.” Twilight pointed at the sky. “You see that?” Hyrule looked over. “Guess you owe Wofie and apology.” 

“It looked like the top of a building!” Hyrule smiled. “Finally, I’m sick hunting and fishing.” Twilight crossed his arms. “No wait! Fishing is fun. It’s just tiring.” 

“Come on, Salamander! Let’s go tell the rest of the guys.” Twilight turned around running in the opposite direction.

“Ugh.” Hyrule rolled his eyes and ran behind him. The groups of guys were packing up their supplies. 

“Did you boys find anything?” Time asked intrigued by their new found friendship. 

“Yup!” Hyrule said proudly. 

“Me and the Salamander found a village.” Hyrule rolled his eyes, annoyed. 

“Oh there in the second phase of the nickname.” Legend said loudly to Four. 

“What do you mean? Hyrule asked, grabbing his bag. 

“First it’s denial. Then it’s annoyance. And lastly acceptance. You didn’t correct him when he called you Salamander. You’re accepting it.”

“No I’m not! Twilight, stop calling me Salamander!” Hyrule yelled. 

“Ok kiddo,” Twi said while walking to the Wild. Wild was pouting a little. “You okay?” 

“Does Hyrule know about Wolfie and you?”

“No why?”

“You guys just seem really close all of a sudden.” Twilight stood back for a second. “Is he your new protege?” 

“Aw, Wild. are you jealous?” Twilight patted his head.

“What? No!” Wild smacked his hand away. “You- You just haven’t taught me all the hidden moves yet!” 

“Don’t worry I could never replace you Cub. No one is nearly as wild.” 

“And I take pride in that, but why have you guys been so close lately? Seems random.” 

“We just,” Twilight rubbed his left hand. “Talked about something so.” Twilight shrugged. “I dunno.”

“About what?” Twilight hesitated. He wanted to tell Wild about his hand for a while now. But everytime he tried he just couldn’t. There was some guilt, but he just wasn't ready for them to know. “If you’re not ready to talk to me that's okay. It’s not a big deal.” 

“Sorry, I want to-” 

“I get it.” Twilight smiled. 

“Okay guys pack up your shit! I for one am starving!” Warriors said. 

“Let’s find a bed to sleep on first.” Sky said, walking behind him. 

“Ooo fancy.” Twilight said to himself. 

“Let’s go!” Warriors called again. “Time I know you’re days from death but let’s move it.” 

“Watch it captain.” Time warned.

Walking through this town it came to their attention that this Hyrule was different, this was none of theirs. This spiked some curiosity to explore, but they focused on a place to sleep first. They fell on a place called Smoketown Cavern. It was late when they walked. They were greeted by a very jumpy woman. 

“Hello miss.” Time greeted. She jumped when she saw all of us. 

“Why, hello! And what can I do for you... look alikes?” 

“We would like a room please.” 

"Perfect! What type of room do you all want?"

"The biggest!" Warriors yelled.

"Why?" Time asked.

"Old man there are 9 of us." 

"So?"

"So we all can fit."

"Why don't we have separate rooms?"

"And how do you plan on talking to each other in different rooms?" Time paused. Then turned to the women. 

"What's your name?” 

"Uh- Mirai."

"We'll take the big room Miss Mirai." 

“Of course.” 

“Wait what about food!?” Wind rudely bursted out, reviving a punch from Four. 

“I can cook something for all y’all!” 

“I can help.” Wild said. 

“I can help too!” Hyrule yelled. 

“No!” All the boys yelled. Hyrule pouted. 

“Maybe next time Salamander.” Twilight whispered while patting Hyrule’s head.

“I’ll help Miss Mirai.” Wild interjected. 

“You don’t have to do that-”

“Please I need a break from them.” Mirai laughed. 

“Okay, okay.” 

The big room was huge. There were enough beds for them to all have their own. Time fell on the bed, exhaling deeply. Warriors looked over. 

“You tired old man?” 

“You have no idea.” 

On the other side of the room Wind and Hyrule were smacking each other with wet towels. Wind was winning. Legend and Four were watching while having their own conversation about dinner. Wild was sitting in bed going through the leftover spices he had in his bag. Twilight was on the bed. 

“Haven’t laid on a bed in years.” Twilight whispered to himself.

“What? Really?” Wild questioned. “Why not?” 

“Beds aren’t really a common thing in Ordon. So I never had one. I mean it’s not weird to have one. But they’re pretty expensive to make.”

“So you don’t have a bed.” 

“Nope.”

“Where do you sleep then?” Warriors asked. 

“Uh, the floor.” 

Warriors and Wild looked at each other. 

“What? We sleep on the floor most of the time.” 

“Yeah but I still have one at home.” Wild said. 

“War?”

“Yes Twi I have a bed in my house.” 

“Salamander!” Twilight called.

“What?” Hyrule answered dodging a wet towel.

“Do you have a bed in your house?”

“I don’t have a house- Ow! You little!” Hyrule went back to attacking Wind.

“I guess I do deserve to treat myself."

Wild sighed, shaking his head. Warriors chuckled. 

“Get a bed pup, laying on the ground too long will hurt your back.” Time said, with his eye closed on the bed. “Trust me I know.” 

“Maybe I will. This does feel nice.”   
  
After about an hour there was a knock on the door. 

Wind opened it. 

“Oh hey.” It was Mirai.

“I was wondering if Wild was still willing to help me cook.” Wild ran up to her. His eyes were sparkling. 

"Hell yeah, let's cook something delicious." They walked out of the room.

  
  
  


About an hour later Wild called them downstairs to the dinner table. The group of boys almost cried when they saw the amount of food on the table. They all sat down stuffing their faces while getting to know the owner, Mirai. She didn’t say much other than that she hadn’t had a guess in a while. Around the end of dinner. Time told them an old story of when he was a child, and how he fought the moon. Hyrule was shocked to see how engrossed Twilight was in the story. There was no way that dumb story was true. After Dinner Mirai thanked Wild profusely for helping her, then she went to the basement to do something she claimed. The rest of the boys were exploring around the hotel. But Hyrule was outside on the balcony. Staring at the sky. Twilight walked outside. 

“Knock Knock kiddo.” Hyrule didn’t answer. “You okay?” 

“Hm. Yeah.” Twilight looked up at the sky with Hyrule. 

“What are you looking at?” Hyrule didn’t answer. “What are you thinking about?” Hyrule looked down.

“Sometimes I wonder why there are only nine of us. I mean I think over the course of thousands and thousands of years there would be more heroes like us.” 

“Maybe we’re the only ones who succeeded in killing ganon. Hm... No… that’s not true. I remember Wild telling me that before he became the hero there was another one about 10,000 years ago. One that sealed away ganon until he gained power again.” 

“Why isn’t he here right now.” 

“I don’t know.” 

“You think he’s like Wild.” 

“Maybe.” 

"Maybe a new threat is targeting us?”

“Uh…”

“Or maybe we're the strongest."

"Or the weakest." They paused. 

"Nah." They said in unison. 

“Sometimes I think about the heroes that failed. And I get really sad and anxious. Because we know how much it sucks to fail as a hero. I can’t imagine what they must be feeling.” 

“Regret...” 

“...And guilt...” 

“So much pain.” Hyrule randomly smacked his hands together and closed his eyes. “Uh, Kiddo. Are you-” 

“Dear the other Links that may have failed in the past. You did your best…” Twilight eyes widened. Then he as well closed his eyes with his hand together. 

“You fought hard...” 

“...And diligently...” 

“...With courage...” 

“...And even if Ganon won; I forgive you.” Twilight paused. Opening his eyes to look at the stars in the sky. “I forgive you.” Hyrule repeated. “I forgive you…” Twilight closed his eyes again. 

“...So rest in peace Link...” 

“...You deserve to sleep without fear...” 

“...Without suffering...” 

“...without worry…”

“...without regrets…” Twilight’s voice cracked but he didn’t care. 

“...rest in peace without regrets because even if you fail there will always be another Link to kick ganon’s ass.” Hyrule opened his eyes and looked at Twilight who was already staring at him smiling. “You think they heard us?” 

“Why don't we do this once in a while, so they never forget?” 

“Couldn’t think of a better idea.” 

  
  
  


That night when they went back into the room. Twilight could look away from Time. He laid on his back staring at the ceiling. He closed his eyes. 

“I wonder if you heard me.” He stayed in that position for who knows how long until he heard footsteps tight outside the door. Twi got up from the bed. 

“Where are you going?” Wind asked. He was playing a card game with Hyrule. 

“Just gonna walk for a bit.”

“Oh okay.” Twilight walked outside. Mirai was walking away from their door. 

“Hey Mirai.” She turned around showing her gingerly smile. “I want to thank you for being so nice to us lately. I know we can be a little loud. And that meal you cooked was amazing.” 

“Oh stop! I haven’t done much of anything. And your brother Wild helped a whole lot.”

“Yeah I suppose.” Mirai cringed as she touched her back. “Are you alright Miss Mirai?” 

“Yeah… it’s just.” 

“What?” 

“I got this place from my grandfather. So a lot of his old stuff is still here. I moved and sold most of it. But I recently opened a closet and remembered that there was a bunch of stuff in there. I’ve been moving it to sell the stuff, but I’m a little petite.” 

“I can help!” 

“No- no! It would be extremely rude of me to ask a guest.” 

“Is that why you left before you came and asked?” 

“Yeah, heh heh.” 

“Come on I don’t mind.” 

“You really don’t mind?”

“Of course not. And also I can’t sleep.” 

“You guys are really sweet. It’s nice.” Mirai showed him to the basement. She opened the closet and, boy, this was gonna take work. “You can back out anytime if you’re tired.” 

“Aw come on. Are you doubting me?” 

“N- no! Of course not!”

“I’m kidding. Let’s get started.” They started pulling out boxes and old furniture and moving them upstairs. Twilight tried to be as quiet as possible as he did so. 

They were half way done and the two decided to take a break. Mirai had given him a glass of water. He looked at her for a second. 

“Miss Mirai?” 

“Hm?” 

“I was wondering, do you know if there is a hero around here?” Mirai looked down. 

“There was… but there was this man that wanted to control everything with evil and malice.” 

“Did-” 

“Yes, the hero stopped him but he perished alongside that monster.” Twilight looked down. 

“I see.” 

“He was a good person. We were around the same age so I watched him grow; from the moment he was a child he promised to save everyone. And he did. But now I remember when he was alive. People asked him to promise that he would come back. But he could never answer. Maybe behind those smiles he was terrified.” Mirai looked up. Twilight had his hands touching with his eyes closed. 

_“Rest in peace.”_ She heard him whisper. “Well,” Twilight spoke. “Let’s get back to it.” He said with a smile. That smile, It reminded her of the boy who saved everyone. Twilight walked back to the closet.

About an hour later they were pulling out the last boxes. He peeked inside the box and found old trinkets. 

“Ah those are my grandfather’s old things. Let me take that.” She took the box and walked out the closet. “We’re almost done Mr. Twi!” She sounded tired. Twilight turned back, there was one more box with a cloth under it. The cloth was covering something square and thick. Another piece of furniture he assumed. 

As he was picking up a box; a long cloth fell from above him. When he looked up he saw himself. 

Himself; he didn’t look like himself. Who was this older, tired looking man? What were all the small scars and cuts on his face? What were those dark marks on his forehead? Were those from transforming into a wolf? How long have those been there? Why did no one mention it before? Twilight frowned, he was so… he was so…

The emotions started to return…

But he was liberated, right? Those agonizing dreams and agonizing thoughts could never harm him anymore. Right? So why was there a growing ache throughout his body? Why was his left hand trembling like this? Twilight placed the box of things on the floor. He panned up, staring at his reflection, staring at those blue eyes. There was disappointment, a cold feeling washing him. They looked mournful, like they were begging someone to free them. 

He didn’t notice when he raised his left hand. All these emotions he had felt two years ago; Yes it was two years ago since he saw his face this clearly. All the emotions were still there. Waiting for him patiently. They still hurt; and it wasn’t just Midna. No, that didn’t hurt as much anymore. It was everything. It was becoming a hero. It was meeting Midna, then losing her. It was killing Ganondorf. It was the way the villages of Ordon looked at him. Like they could see through his fabricated smiles. It was punching a mirror right in front of Colin and screaming like a maniac. It was the way he heard Rusl and Uli tell Colin to spend less time with him. It was the distrust he heard in his adoptive parent’s voice. It was him leaving Ordon in the middle of the night, and never saying goodbye. 

_It was Twilight._

It was _his_ fault. 

Those blue eyes staring back at him. 

That change in the atmosphere as soon as he came back from Ordon. He couldn’t describe it. He felt like a parasite that the host got used to. He wanted his life to go back to normal. But it’s like his adventure tainted him, burned him beyond repair. Zelda said he was childish for thinking he could stay a goat herder. And she was right but that’s all he ever wanted. 

He smashed the mirror. And just like last time he saw those glass bits fall to the floor. He broke any connection he had to those feelings once more. Twilight didn’t care if he never saw his face again. He couldn’t handle being this overwhelmed. 

Was he free?

_No._

But he would bury it, suppress it, smother it in the lie that he was liberated. 

“What was that?” Twilight gasped as he blinked back to reality. He breathed heavily and realized what he had done. He was liberated from his past endeavors, but now he just smashed Mirai’s mirror. “Twilight? What was that?” She was getting closer. “Is everything okay?” Twilight closed the closet door before she could walk in. “Twilight what happened? Just answer, please.” He couldn't, he could barely think. “It’s okay if you broke something. I won’t be mad.” Twilight stayed silent still finding trouble to speak. “I’m going to get your brothers okay?” Twilight’s heart sank. Unknowingly that was the last thing he wanted to do. Time would make him tell him what’s wrong. He wasn’t ready for that! But he was too much of a coward to stop Mirai. 

  
  
  
  


Wind was winning the towel fight with Hyrule. But the knock on the door stopped him. 

“Timeout ‘rule.” Wind turned to the door. “Oh- hey Mirai. Everything okay?” Wind asked. 

“Um. Not particularly.” 

“What happened?” 

“Well, you see… your brother, Twilight. He kind of locked himself in my closet.” 

“What!?” Time sat up from the bed. Warriors and Wild looked up. 

“What do you mean he locked himself in your closet!?” Legend questioned. 

“Exactly that. I heard a shattering sound-” Hyrule’s heart dropped. “-Then when I asked what happened he locked the door and wouldn’t say anything. I think he broke something.” 

“But then why wouldn’t he come right out?” Four answered, confused. “This isn’t Twilight’s character to run away from things.” The boys nodded. 

“If Twilight broke something he would at least apologize.” Wind questioned.

“There’s something else going on then.” Time started. “Something underneath.” Time walked to the boys and placed his hand on Hyrule. Hyrule froze and met his eyes with the old man. “Hyrule, you know something. I can tell.” 

“I… don't know if it's my place to say...” 

“His hand.” Warriors chimed in.

“What about his hand?” Time said. Warrior squinted like he was remembering something. 

“Hyrule told me a few weeks back that he noticed something wrong with Twilight’s hand.”

“Is this true?” Time asserted.

“Yes.” Hyrule admitted.

“Then tell us, do you know why Twilight would do something like this?” 

“It’s not that simple. And I don’t know that much either. He told me… He told me...” 

“Alright,” Time empathized. “Talk to him, can you do that for me?” Hyrule didn’t move. Or say anything. But he found himself following Mirai downstairs to the closet. 

“He’s in there.” Hyrule nodded. Mirai walked away. Hyrule stared at the door. What the hell was he supposed to say? He was just a kid. That’s the only time he’d use that excuse. Hyrule sighed and leaned against the door sitting down. He sat there for a moment.

“Twilight… I thought that name was so fitting when I first met you. You seemed so dark and mysterious. Always keeping to yourself. Your expressions were very gloomy and serious.” He waited, then continued. “But then… when everyone started caring about each other- you became…” Hyrule smiled, “You became a soft glowing light. Like the other twilight. The one that warms the sky when the sun is under the horizon.” Hyrule cringed a bit. Maybe that was too much. 

“So what are you trying to say?” Twilight asked, bringing a grin to Hyrule's face. 

“That you’re my brother and I care about you. And please get out of the closet.” There was a pause. 

“That you’re my brother… and I care about you…” Twilight repeated. Hyrule could hear his voice cracking. 

“Twi-” 

“When I punched the mirror the first time. I was with my little brother. He just wanted to hang out. He just wanted to talk, and I lashed out at him. Then I smashed the mirror in front of him. Colin… He looked so scared… and then he ran away. When I came by his house. I heard my adoptive parents say that he shouldn't come over to my house anymore. They said that I was different now.” 

“What did you do after that?” 

“I left and never said goodbye. A pretty shitty thing to do huh?” Hyrule thought for a moment.

“You should go back Twilight. No matter what your foster parents said. You should go see Colin. He probably misses you.” It was quiet for sometime. Hyrule tried to imagine Twilight crying but found it hard to perceive. He couldn’t necessarily hear anything. But something about the atmosphere felt like he was weeping. The door opened abruptly. Hyrule stood from the floor. 

“You’re a good brother, Salamander.” Hyrule grinned at that stupid nickname. “I’m not ready to deal with Time yet.” 

“Will you ever be?”

“Fuck no. That old man is scary when he wants to be.” Hyrule bursting out laughing. “This isn’t a joke kiddo! You don’t mess with a man that fought a moon!” 

“Come on Twi; I get that you respect the grumpy old man, but that story isn’t real!”

“Yes it is!” 

“Twilight… come on.” 

“Why would he lie about that?”

“Because that’s what Dads do.” Twi smiled.

“I’d pay you so many rupees to call Time dad right in his face.” 

“I’d do it for free.” Hyrule smirked. “Just to see his reaction.”

“I’m telling Time you said that.” 

“No wait! Don’t!” Twilight laughed and Hyrule joined in after. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What do y'all think of this chapter?


	4. Liberated.

Four was holding Twilight’s left hand delicately, turning it around inspecting every side. He pressed down a few times watching Twilight grimace in pain. Four sighed.

“You really messed up your hand.” Four shared still looking around at it. Twilight could feel Time concern grow from behind him. 

“Oh really? Well, I do have another hand.” Twilight regretted saying that instantly. The tension from Time grew even more. Any second he was going to explode. 

“Before today you still had tiny pieces of glass in your hand. The old mirror was made differently than the new mirror. That’s how I can tell. The glass in your hand cut a lot of veins and muscles. Having the glass stay there must have irritated your hand a lot. It must have slowed you down too. Haven't you been feeling extreme hand pain?” 

“Um…” Twilight couldn't answer. Four frowned. 

“Hm. I see. You really should tell us when you’re in pain. We don’t bite like you Twi.” Four smirked. Twilight looked away. Suddenly, there was gasp behind them. Wild was at Twilight’s side. 

“Remember a few weeks ago when you dropped your sword mid-battle!?” Wild yelled. “Was that?” 

“Yeah, my hand sometimes gives out like that.” Twilight breathed out. 

“Pup.” There it was. Time was holding his shoulder. “Why did you punch the mirror?” Twilight looked away for a moment. Four had taken small tweezers and was digging inside his hand trying to get all the mirror shards out. But honestly Twilight didn’t feel it that much. 

“I... I don’t know. I was angry at myself and confused about what was happening in my life. I punched the mirror without even thinking about it honestly. Me and mirrors have a bad history.” Twilight chuckled aloud. No one else joined in. “I didn’t even notice until…” _I didn’t notice until Colin called my name._ “I was tired of thinking about my problems and lashing out at my family. And for some reason looking at my face kept reminding me… of how uncool I was. I didn’t tell you all about my hand, because I was afraid of remembering the state I was in.” 

“I understand,” Time started. “It’s difficult.” Twilight looked back up. “Back in my youth, I had left Lon Lon ranch looking for… something. Then… in an accident, I had first lost my eye. When I returned, I walked around Lon Lon ranch with a mask on for a week before Malon tore it right off me. And then she kissed my wounded eye gently.” Sky let out a soft _aww_ which was ruined with Twilight saying-

“Well, I don’t want no kisses if that’s what ya getting at.” Twilight whispered sympathetically. Then Twi was hugged by Time. Time was on his knees. His head resting in Twi’s neck. “Old man, you’re starting to get all soft like Sky.” Just as he said that, Sky hugged his back. Then he was hugged by all his brothers minus Legend, and Four who was still inspecting his hand. 

“Legend!” Warriors called. “If you don’t come here and hug Twi I’ll make you regret it.” Legend scoffed then walked over in defeat. 

“Come on, you too Four.” Time offered. 

“As much as I would love too.” He faked a smile. “Twilight's hand is still heavily damaged.” 

“Aw, you can just say you’re shy, tiny.” Twilight teased. Four answered by squeezing Twilight’s left hand. “Ok ok ok! Ouch.” Four cackled. After a few minutes they all finally let go. Time looked at Twilight’s hand. He was ashamed to say it was the first time he'd seen it without a bandage. Time hated that he didn’t see how much pain Twilight was in, but he knew he couldn't focus on that now. 

“How’s his hand?” Time questioned. “Will he be alright?”

“I hate to be a party pooper, but there’s probably going to be some permanent damage.” Time looked down as the air tensed. “But since now he is _actually_ getting proper treatment and _actually_ getting help, the pain should decrease.” Four scolded at Twi. 

“Okay- Four I can sense your anger from here.” Twilight muttered. 

“You’re gonna have to get used to using your right hand, buddy.” Twi nodded.

“I can do that.”

“And you might lose the ability to move your hand...” 

“Uh.” 

“...And there’s also a possibility you get an infection.”

“I-”

“You could have a seizure…”  
  


“Oh-”

“...Nerve damage.” Four sang. 

“Four-!” 

“The list goes on but you’ll probably be okay!” Twilight laughed nervously. 

“I owe you, tiny.” 

“Pay me back by not punching any more mirrors.” 

“No promises.” 

“Hey!” 

“I’m kidding!” Time sighed shaking his head. Sometimes his boys were a handful. 

  
  
  


Twilight looked out the window hours later. Outside Hyrule was in the hotel's backyard. He was sitting against the tree. Twilight’s curiosity took him outside to where his little brother was. 

“Hey Salamander.” Hyrule rolled his eyes as he watched Twilight jog over. “Okay I’ll stop calling you Salamander if you don’t like it.” Twilight empathized.

“Ah, do whatever you want.” The older boy beamed. 

“Legend would say we’re in the last phase of the nickname. Acceptance?” 

“I guess so. Did you say sorry to Mirai for…” 

“Yeah, I gave her some money too. She didn’t want to take it at first but I practically forced her.”

“Heh, good, she’s really nice.”

“Yeah…” Twilight smacked his cheeks. Hyrule looked over shocked. “Man, I want to say thanks again, for what you did. But that doesn’t feel like enough.”

“Huh?” 

“You really helped me out Hyrule. How can I repay you?” Hyrule stared at Twilight's face, then looked over at the crystal on his neck. 

“How about we just talk? Hm?” Twilight grinned. “You could start by telling me where’d you get this-?” He only tapped for a second.

“Wait! Don’t touch that!” But that tap was enough for him to morph into a darkness; and then turn into something small. “Oh my fucking god.” Twilight whispered as he picked Hyrule up. He looked all around Hyrule’s new body. “No fucking way.” _He was- he was a fucking-._ He stammered, then laughed profusely. “You’re a fucking salamander…” Twilight laughed, astounded. Hyrule was a small light brown little creature. Twilight lifted his finger to pet him. “Ow! Ow! Don’t bite me!” The brown creature had it’s little mouth clapping down on his finger. “No biting!”

“Who’s biting you?” Twi turned shocked but then smiled.

“Oh Sky! Perfect.” 

“Four told me to give you some medicine. What’s perfect?” Sky looked at Twilight’s hands. “Aw who’s this little guy?” Sky leaned in a bit. 

“I need your sword.” 

“What why?” Sky shot back up. 

“Remember what happened… with the _pink_ rabbit…” _Wink wink._ Sky started blankly for a second. 

“Oh! Of course!” Sky brought out his sword and tapped Hyrule. The blackness receded and Hyrule stood up shaky on his feet. Twi helped him stand. 

“What was that!? Twilight why do you have-!?” When Hyrule looked up at Twi he saw the markings that were oh so similar to Wolfie’s. 

“Did you figure me out?” Twilight spoke gently. Hyrule didn’t answer. “It was going to happen sooner than later.” Hyrule let out a dry laugh. 

“Twi.” Sky called then wacked Twi on the head. “Stop turning our brothers into creatures!” 

“Okay, okay! I mean it’s mostly their fault for touching my shit, but okay! Stop hitting me!” Sky pulled back. He gave him the medicine.

“Who else did you turn into a creature?” Hyrule asked. 

“Uh… don’t worry about that.”

“You’re such a handful.” Sky sighed then walked off. When he was gone Twilight turned back with a sinister grin. 

“So, _Salamander._ ” 

“Hey! Turn me into that thing again and I’ll bite you real hard!” Hyrule threatened. While Twilight was laughing he suddenly stopped. He grimaced and looked at his hand. 

“Wow.” 

“Does it still hurt?” Twi moved his fingers around. 

“Before, I punched the mirror to free myself… from my turmoils. But now… having the glass shards gone from my hand… I am truly liberated now. Even if it hurts a little.” Hyrule grabbed the pouch Sky dropped off. 

"Oh Four gave you the good stuff."

"Did he?"

"Guess he was more worried than he let on."

"Time seemed like he was gonna explode." Hyrule stood up holding his hand out. “Hm?”

“Come on pup. I’m in the mood to go fishing.” 

“Okay, kiddo. But let’s actually catch a fish this time.” 

“We did catch a fish.”

“Fish that we eat Salamander.”

“Yeah yeah, whatever.” 

“Hey, so since you can turn into a Salamander wanna try swimming underwater?” 

“No! I’m never turning into that thing ever again!”

  
“Aw. Come on.”

“Hmm… Maybe if you tell me who your companion was during your adventure.” Twilight nodded.

“It’s a deal.” They smiled. 

“So what were they like? When did you meet them? Were they short or tall? What was their name?” Twilight chuckled at Hyrule’s excitement. 

**“Midna.”**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Midna."
> 
> Did you like it? :3

**Author's Note:**

> Yo! Thanks for reading! If you see any mistakes please tell me. (And if you have any story ideas or headcanons with Twilight I'd love to hear 'em.)


End file.
